Guthrie dazzles in Royals' victory

Guthrie dazzles in Royals' victory

In first game of Sunday doubleheader

April 28th, 2013 in News

KANSAS CITY - Jeremy Guthrie kept the Indians off-balance, Alcides Escobar and Alex Gordon homered and the Kansas City Royals routed Cleveland 9-0 on Sunday to open the first day-night doubleheader in the history of Kauffman Stadium.

The doubleheader was caused by a rainout Friday night.

Guthrie (3-0) allowed six hits over 6 2/3 innings for his 16th consecutive start without a loss, tying the Royals' record set by Paul Splittorff from Aug. 13, 1977-April 22, 1978.

Escobar's solo shot came in the fifth inning and Gordon's two-run homer came in the eighth, capping a big day for the Kansas City offense. Jarrod Dyson also drove in a pair of runs, and Mike Moustakas had a single and three walks - one with the bases loaded.

Justin Masterson (4-2) allowed seven runs in 6 1/3 innings for the Indians. The right-hander, who entered the game with a 1.85 ERA, was trying to join Bob Lemon, Greg Swindell and Cliff Lee as the only pitchers in franchise history with five wins in April.

Instead, Masterson got roughed up by the bottom of the Royals' lineup. He walked Moustakas, who was hitting just .152, on four pitches with two outs in the second. Jeff Francoeur and Dyson followed with back-to-back doubles to give Kansas City a 2-0 lead.

Masterson threw four more balls to the struggling Moustakas in the fourth - eight straight pitches without a strike. This time, Francoeur and Dyson added singles for a 3-0 lead.

Escobar homered on the first pitch he saw in the fifth inning. The solo shot just skirted the foul pole in left field, landing in the seats for a memorable 500th career hit.

The Royals blew the game open in the seventh when Chris Getz singled leading off the inning, and Gordon added a base hit. Escobar's grounder made it 5-0, and a walk by Billy Butler and Eric Hosmer's RBI single finally knocked Masterson from the game.

Moustakas' bases-loaded walk made it 7-0, and Gordon's two-run shot off Scott Barnes in the eighth punctuated the scoring for the light-hitting Royals.

The closest Guthrie came to allowing a run came in the second inning.

Carlos Santana sent a drive to center that hit off the green padding atop the wall. The ball bounced back into play and was ruled a double, and the call was upheld when the umpires checked the replay. Santana was left stranded when Guthrie retired Ryan Raburn and Lonnie Chisenhall.

Guthrie, whom the Royals acquired from Colorado last summer, has pitched so well in Kansas City that he was re-signed last offseason for $25 million over three years.

He's made good on the investment, too: He hasn't lost since Aug. 8, 2012.

Notes: RHP Corey Kluber (1-0, 1.80 ERA) will start Game 2 for the Indians, while the Royals recalled LHP Will Smith from Triple-A Omaha to start for them in the 7:05 p.m. game. ... Cleveland put C Lou Marson on the DL (right shoulder strain) and recalled C Yan Gomes and LHP Scott Barnes from Triple-A Columbus prior to the game.